Am I the only one not looking forward to "Cloud" computing?

[xCxStylex]

What kind of crack is this fool smoking? You agreed to these terms when you signed up for your account.

If you want him to have your games, just give him your login and password,

After my customer service experience with Steam and how I simply wanted to just give my brother's account my games because I was going to cancel mine (I was moving on) and they said no, he's going to have to buy them, I say thee nay.

 

[PrinceofWands]

Just to name a few now...Steam and EA for one...with newer EA games, all your saved games are stored on their servers...

Now, I know thats not a big list or anything, but looking on tech sites and stuff, more and more companies are pushing it...its not that big of a deal now, and sure one can opt out not to be a part of Cloud computing, but I have a feeling that not too far in the distant future you arent going to have a choice...

Then don't use them. I wrote my letters to EA and ubisoft and explained that due to their choices I would never again buy one of their games. When enough people refuse to participate, it changes.

 

[AndroidVageta]

Dumb and bad example. Steam may force you to "use the cloud" but no ones FORCING you to use steam. Steam isn't a publisher like EA. It's not like you can get Battlefield Bad Company 2 published by XXX company that doesn't save savegames on their servers instead of EA, which does.

Steam isnt your only option in buying a title. You can even buy valve games on physical media.

This is flawed...yes you can buy the game on physical media but it STILL NEEDS STEAM TO INSTALL AND PLAY...Modern Warfare 2...Metro 2033...and many other PHYSICAL MEDIA games!

And people need to stop with this "if you dont like it dont buy it" bullshit...I dont like the electricity that comes from my house from producers that burn coal or use radioactive material...but you cant live without electricity...I mean, you CAN, but who the hell does in any developed country? I like playing games...the ones that use Steam use Steam, theres nothing I can do about it...am I expected to just alienate myself from these games?

 

[zinfamous]

Yeah...so do CD spindles and cases

Don't get me wrong...I have that addiction to a degree, but I definitely feel better when I don't have all that mess hanging around. Like the thread in PC gaming asking who keeps their game boxes.

I always liked all those wasteful and useless bits of cardboard, too, but I find Steam, which is streamlined both in lack of organic waste and reducing desktop/HDD clutter a completely awesome, and far superior experience to hanging on to a bunch of useless crap.

Spindles are certainly a way of organizing, but I think stashing uncompressed files on a couple of TB harddrives is the best way to go....assuming you can play on your stereo.

 

[SunSamurai]

I don't understand the incessant need for people to take extremes.

Cloud computer is going to take muh local storage away!!
- Some dumbass

No its fucking not. Shut up already you dont get it.

 

[PrinceofWands]

am I expected to just alienate myself from these games?

Yes, or in point of fact you're not bothered by it. When something is wrong you oppose it. If you die, if the world spins into the sun, whatever. If it's wrong you oppose it.

I love ubisoft games, and like a great many EA games. I haven't bought one in months, and absolutely never will again. If I have to take up a new hobby besides gaming so be it. I will NEVER participate in what is wrong.

Regrettably most people don't have any conviction, and so won't stand on moral principles. This means that my stance is moot, but it's still the right one, so there I am.

 

[dmcowen674]

It seems to me that our beloved PC's that we love building, storing information, and processing our beloved programs and applications on slowly look like they might fade away some day due to Cloud computing.

Am I the only one that doesnt feel comfortable with all my info stored on a server somewhere? Not being able to back up my personal saved games?

I mean, I understand the use of Cloud computing...but I just feel like too many companies are pushing for it while to little people are saying "no, we dont want/need that"...

Its coming to the point that every piece of software you buy you will no longer have a physical disk for anymore...

I dont know, it just seems like the beginning of the end...I can see everything being limited and controlled with Cloud computing...to me it all gives me that "Big Brother" feeling...

You're in Georgia so you should have nothing to worry about as cloud computing is illegal in that state.

 

[DivideBYZero]

Two things,

1) Steam != Cloud computing
2) Cloud computing is useful in some cases, but not all. Local computing and storage will remain, at least in the short term.

Just one example of how my corporation uses cloud services is for timesheet, resource allocation and expense reporting. It's ideal as it's always available anywhere in the world for all of our consultants and requires nothing more than regular credentials to access should you be without your laptop, not even a VPN key.

On the flip side we roll with 8Gb RAM laptops to run VMs of software environments.

Both cloud and local computing can and do co-exist today. Don't fear it, take advantage.

 

[DivideBYZero]

You're in Georgia so you should have nothing to worry about as cloud computing is illegal in that state.

As usual you are about as wrong as it is possible to be:

http://gta.georgia.gov/00/blog/detail/0,2775,1070969_1074415_154928801,00.html

 

[sandorski]

today i am cursing my PC (changed heat sink and now it seems i've got a short or bad ram or something) so i welcome cloud computing

Those who would give up their PC for Convenience, deserve neither!

...or something like that.

 

[sandorski]

Imagine a Service like Steam where you Pay a Subscription and that allows you X Hours/Month of Gaming from a Library of thousands of Games, both New and Old. You wouldn't have to Buy a Game again, but could play any Game you want any time you want.

This, I imagine, is something Cloud Computing could bring.

 

[TwinsenTacquito]

I fail to see the upside in cloud. I bet the government can use it, good for them. I like privacy and freedom.

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

1) Steam != Cloud computing

This is correct. Steam uses some "cloud services" but really it's just storage which isn't cloud computing. Cloud computing implies thin clients with computation on the cloud. There is an upcoming game system which claims to have achieved this (OnLive), although I'm highly skeptical at this stage.

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

I fail to see the upside in cloud.

Then you're extremely short-sighted and I hope you don't work in the technology sector because people like you are a cancer.

 

[Fingolfin269]

Then you're extremely short-sighted and I hope you don't work in the technology sector because people like you are a cancer.

And calling someone out for being ignorant instead of explaining to them why and how they are ignorant isn't equally cancerous? You're not helping solve the problem so you're basically part of the problem.

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

And calling someone out for being ignorant instead of explaining to them why and how they are ignorant isn't equally cancerous?